The short-term goals of this project are to conduct an evaluation of critical needs for enhancement of research infrastructure at the University of Florida College of Dentistry (UFCD) and to prepare a U24 grant application for Phase II of DE-03-006. The evaluation will be conducted, and the plan crafted, by the Program Director working in conjunction with an Internal Advisory Committee (IAC) and External Advisory Committee (EAC). The IAC is composed of preeminent scientists recruited from within the UFCD, from the College of Medicine (COM), from the College of Engineering's Departments of Materials Sciences and Engineering and the Department of Biomedical Engineering Program, and from the McKnight Brain Institute. The External Advisory Committee will be composed of leading researchers and administrators from outside the University of Florida. Together, we will carefully evaluate the present state of research at UFCD and prepare a plan to capitalize on opportunities to achieve our long-term goals of creating and sustaining a top-tier research enterprise that interweaves state-of-the-art basic, clinical and translational oral health research with initiatives in the Health Science Center and elsewhere at the University of Florida. Implementation of this plan will allow us to sustain the tremendous momentum that UFCD has recently built in the areas of basic and patient-oriented research. To begin to achieve our goals, the following Specific Aims are delineated: [unreadable] [unreadable] 1. Conduct an assessment of present research activities and research infrastructure at the University of Florida College of Dentistry (UFCD). [unreadable] [unreadable] 2. Prepare a comprehensive assessment of critical needs for enhancing research infrastructure at UFCD. [unreadable] [unreadable] 3. Create a Plan to enhance Research Infrastructure at UFCD that will ensure that the College can capitalize on the most current advances in science to make substantive progress toward improving oral health through basic, clinical, and translational research. [unreadable] [unreadable] 4. Prepare a highly competitive grant application that incorporates the Research Infrastructure Enhancement Plan in a response to an RFA to be issued by NIDCR in 2003. [unreadable] [unreadable]